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How secured credit card deposits work at each major bank, and how you get them back

A secured card deposit is collateral, not a payment; the issuer keeps it while the account is secured and returns it either when the account graduates to unsecured or after the card is closed and the balance is paid. How much you put down, whether it equals your limit and when you are reviewed differ by bank.

Compiled from official sources Published Oct 11, 2026 Last reviewed How we research
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Contents8 sections

Key takeaways

  • Minimum deposits range from $49 on the Capital One Platinum Secured and Discover it Secured (depending on creditworthiness) to $300 at U.S. Bank.⁠8⁠12⁠14
  • At Citi and U.S. Bank the credit limit equals the deposit; the Capital One Platinum Secured and Discover it Secured can give a $200 line on a smaller deposit.⁠1⁠14⁠8⁠12
  • Citi is the only issuer here that publishes a graduation review schedule, starting at 9 months and then every 12 months.⁠1
  • Every issuer here returns the deposit after the account is closed and the balance is paid, though Citi says the refund is "generally" available and U.S. Bank uses the deposit to pay the balance; Bank of America says the return can take up to two billing cycles plus ten days.⁠4⁠1⁠9⁠12⁠14⁠15
  • Regulation Z bars card issuers from offsetting card debt against your deposits with them, but allows a security interest you affirmatively agreed to and that was disclosed when the account opened.⁠20

A secured credit card works like any other credit card at the register, but the issuer asks for cash up front and holds it as collateral. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau describes the basic arrangement this way: you put an amount equal to your credit limit in an account as a deposit, and as you show you can pay on time, your limit may be raised and you may have your deposit refunded.⁠18 The CFPB also notes that fees and interest rates can be high for secured cards, but that using one can help establish a credit record.⁠18

The deposit is not a prepayment of your bill; Capital One and Discover both say you must still make at least the minimum monthly payment.⁠8⁠12 The CFPB’s example is a $500 deposit: you can spend up to that amount, and paying the bill restores the spending amount back to what you put in.⁠19 Capital One puts it the same way: the deposit is held as collateral against the credit line.⁠8 The details below come from each issuer’s own product pages and application terms, checked on October 10, 2026.

The deposit and the credit line at each bank

Issuers differ in how the deposit relates to the limit. At some, the limit equals the deposit. At others, a smaller deposit can open a larger line, and Bank of America sets the maximum limit using more than the deposit.

Citi asks applicants to choose a deposit between $200 and $2,500 in $100 increments, and says the deposit and the credit limit are always equal.⁠1 Approved applicants have 14 days to provide bank account information for the electronic transfer that funds the deposit.⁠1

U.S. Bank takes a deposit of $300 to $5,000 on the U.S. Bank Secured Visa, and the card limit is the same amount as the deposit.⁠14 The Altitude Go Secured and Cash+ Secured cards use the same $300 to $5,000 range.⁠16⁠17

Bank of America requires a minimum deposit of $200, with a maximum of $5,000, on the BankAmericard Secured card and the secured versions of its Customized Cash Rewards, Travel Rewards and Unlimited Cash Rewards cards.⁠3⁠5⁠6⁠7 Unlike Citi and U.S. Bank, it does not tie the limit one-to-one to the deposit: the maximum credit limit is determined by the deposit, your income and your ability to pay.⁠3

Capital One and Discover, whose Discover it Secured application terms are published by Capital One, use a tiered minimum on two of their three secured cards.⁠9⁠13 The minimum deposit on the Capital One Platinum Secured card and the Discover it Secured card is $49, $99 or $200, and the initial credit line is at least $200.⁠9⁠13 The Quicksilver Secured card has a flat $200 minimum.⁠11 On all three, a larger deposit made within 35 days of approval and before you activate the card raises the starting line.⁠8⁠10⁠12 On the Platinum Secured card, the additional deposit can raise the initial line up to $1,000.⁠8 Quicksilver Secured and Discover it Secured assign a maximum credit limit at approval that ranges from $1,000 to $3,000 based on creditworthiness.⁠10⁠12 Deposits can be paid in installments of at least $20, in whole dollars, by electronic transfer from a bank account; cash and checks are not accepted.⁠8⁠12

Secured card deposits and credit lines (issuer terms checked October 10, 2026)
Card Deposit range Credit line vs. deposit Deposit earns interest
Citi Secured Mastercard $200 to $2,500 Always equal No
U.S. Bank Secured Visa, Altitude Go Secured, Cash+ Secured $300 to $5,000 Equal Yes, per U.S. Bank
Bank of America secured cards (4) $200 to $5,000 Maximum set by deposit, income and ability to pay No
Capital One Platinum Secured $49, $99 or $200 minimum At least $200; extra deposit raises line up to $1,000 No
Capital One Quicksilver Secured $200 minimum At least $200; maximum $1,000 to $3,000 No
Discover it Secured $49, $99 or $200 minimum At least $200; maximum $1,000 to $3,000 No

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

The interest column comes from each issuer’s own wording. Citi holds the deposit in a Collateral Holding Account without interest.⁠2 Bank of America’s terms state that the deposit account does not earn interest.⁠4 Capital One and Discover both say no interest is applied to the deposit.⁠8⁠12 U.S. Bank is the exception: it holds the deposit in a secured savings account that it describes as FDIC-insured and interest-earning.⁠14

Review schedules and graduation

Graduation means the issuer returns the deposit and the account continues as an unsecured card. Only Citi publishes a schedule. Citi reviews customers for graduation starting at 9 months for early graduation, then every 12 months; customers must pass credit graduation criteria and have a valid SSN on file, and a customer who does not qualify stays on the secured card for another 12 months.⁠1 The card it graduates to is the Citi Diamond Preferred card.⁠1 Citi’s terms add that the deposit is held for an initial term of up to 18 months, and that unless Citi determines the account is eligible to have the deposit returned, the holding account must stay open for the full 18 months.⁠2

The other issuers describe periodic reviews without a timetable:

  • Capital One. Platinum Secured cardholders can be considered for a credit line increase in as little as six months.⁠8 With responsible use, Capital One says you could earn back your deposit and upgrade to an unsecured card, and that it may raise your line without an additional deposit based on payment history and creditworthiness.⁠8⁠10
  • Discover. With a positive track record, Discover says you will earn the deposit back and upgrade to the Discover it Cash Back card.⁠12 No fixed review date appears on the product page or in the application terms.⁠12⁠13
  • Bank of America. The bank periodically reviews your overall credit history, including other cards and loans and your relationship with the bank, to decide whether to return the deposit while you keep using the card.⁠4 The account may also be considered for an automatic upgrade at the bank’s discretion.⁠4
  • U.S. Bank. Based on a periodic review of your overall credit history, the funds in the secured savings account may be released, after which the account is no longer secured.⁠15 The Altitude Go Secured and Cash+ Secured cards may graduate automatically to the unsecured Altitude Go and Cash+ Visa Signature cards, with the deposit returned on graduation.⁠16⁠17

None of these issuers promises graduation by a given date. The review is a decision the bank makes, based on criteria it does not fully publish. The credit line reviews page compares which cards state a review at all.

How the deposit comes back

There are two routes back to your money: graduation, or closing the account with the balance paid off.

When Capital One or Discover unsecures an account, the deposit is returned as a statement credit on the card, not as a transfer to your bank.⁠9⁠12 Bank of America pays released collateral to the primary applicant by depositing it into a Bank of America account the applicant owns, or by another method the bank chooses.⁠4 U.S. Bank releases the funds to the cardmember.⁠15

If you close the account instead:

  1. Bank of America

    Pay the balance in full and close the account, and the bank returns the deposit; its terms say this can take up to two billing cycles plus ten days.⁠4

  2. Capital One and Discover

    The deposit is refundable if you close the account and pay the balance in full.⁠9⁠12

  3. Citi

    The deposit is generally refundable when the account is closed, provided the balance is paid in full and the account is in good standing.⁠1 If the account is in default or is not renewed, Citi may apply the deposit to the balance and close the account.⁠2

  4. U.S. Bank

    The deposit is returned if the account is upgraded or closed.⁠14 On closing, the deposit funds are used to pay the balance in full, and they may be held for the later of 60 days, two billing cycles after closing or two billing cycles after the last item posts.⁠15

At every issuer above, the deposit secures the debt if you stop paying.⁠2⁠4⁠9⁠13⁠15 Bank of America’s security agreement, for example, lets the bank apply the deposit to its enforcement costs, interest and fees, and the principal after a default.⁠4

Why the bank can hold your money

Regulation Z generally bars a card issuer from offsetting what you owe on a credit card against your funds on deposit with that issuer, before or after the card is closed.⁠20 The rule does not stop an issuer from obtaining or enforcing a consensual security interest in those funds.⁠20 The CFPB’s official interpretation says such a security interest must be affirmatively agreed to by the consumer and disclosed in the account-opening disclosures.⁠20 Bank of America’s secured card terms, for instance, include a security agreement that grants the bank a security interest in the deposit account and states that no portion of it is available to you while it secures the card.⁠4 U.S. Bank’s application terms likewise grant it a security interest in the secured savings account.⁠15

What to check before you fund the deposit

The figures in this article are what each issuer published as of October 10, 2026. Before applying, confirm the deposit range and funding deadline in the issuer’s current terms, since Citi allows 14 days and Capital One and Discover allow 35.⁠1⁠8⁠12 Check whether the deposit earns interest and how a refund is paid. And note whether the issuer publishes a graduation review schedule; only Citi does among the cards covered here.⁠1

Card pages: Citi Secured Mastercard, U.S. Bank Secured Visa. Issuer overviews: Bank of America, Capital One, Citi, Discover, U.S. Bank.

Cards in this article

Sources

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